Courses and Syllabi
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.
Art History Fall 2023
Undergraduate
Introduction to the content and principles of the visual arts. Approach varies with instructor. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Introduces themes and imagery in art. Approaches and traditions to explore vary with the instructor. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Introduces study, principle, and understanding of art of architecture. Approach varies with instructor; may be historical, geographical, technical, or thematic. Notes: Field trips required. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Major periods, monuments, and themes of Western art and architecture. Introduces Washington, D.C., museum collections and a historical framework for further study in art history. Covers prehistory, the ancient world, and the Middle Ages. Notes: Designed as a two-course sequence, but each part may be taken independently without prerequisite. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Major periods, monuments, and themes of Western art and architecture. Introduces Washington, D.C., museum collections and a historical framework for further study in art history. Covers the art of the Renaissance, the baroque period, and modern Europe and the Americas. Notes: Designed as a two-course sequence, but each part may be taken independently without prerequisite. Limited to three attempts.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
Introduces arts of Latin America from pre-Columbian to modern era. Discusses important examples of painting, sculpture, and architecture in relation to culture and history of region. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Explores problems in urban design in a particular geographical region or historical period. Approach varies with instructor and may involve archaeological or theoretical approaches appropriate to the specific context. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Investigates the art and archaeology of the people of ancient Nubia (modern Sudan), who became pharaohs of Ancient Egypt’s 25th Dynasty around 750 BCE. Discusses Nubian cultures in context of state formation, religious change, colonialism, and imperialism. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Aspects of art and architecture in medieval Europe, from the fall of the Roman Empire through the Gothic period. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Studies in architecture, sculpture, and painting in the age of Caravaggio, Bernini, Velazquez, and Poussin. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Development of photography from origins in France in the 19th century to the present. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Movements from neoclassicism to symbolism discussed in relation to social, cultural, political, and technological changes in Europe. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Explores visual art production since 1980, drawing on regional resources. Examines social, institutional, and political issues in recent art and its markets. Notes: Requires students to work collaboratively and make several field trips, including one Saturday bus trip to New York. Specific topics and assignments vary with the changing art season and instructor. Lecture, discussion. Limited to three attempts.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
Explores the complex and dynamic history of China by examining ways in which social, religious, and political shifts have given rise to new and variant forms of material culture. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Internship with a professional arts institution, organization, or individual in the Washington, D.C., area. Project to be arranged by student in consultation with faculty instructor and field supervisor. Notes: Strongly recommended for advanced art history students seeking exposure to professional work in visual arts. May be taken for 3 to 6 credits, or repeated for up to 6 credits. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Historical investigation of theories, methods, and critiques involved in the discipline of art history. Approach or focus may vary with instructor. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Studies a particular area of ancient art of the Mediterranean, Near East, or Middle East. Topics may be art form or medium, geographical area, theme, function, or context. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Studies a particular area of American art, focusing on a form, such as landscape or genre painting; theme, such as nationalism, regionalism, or iconography of the family; or movement, such as American modernism. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Study of a particular topic in 20th-century Latin American art. Course may focus on a specific period, region, movement, medium, or theoretical issue, or explore cultural connections and transfer between regions. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Explores problems in urban design in a particular geographical region or historical period. Approach varies with instructor and may involve archaeological or theoretical approaches appropriate to the specific context. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Aspects of art and architecture in medieval Europe, from the fall of the Roman Empire through the Gothic period. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Studies a particular area of ancient art of the Mediterranean, Near East, or Middle East. Topics may be art form or medium, geographical area, theme, function, or context. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Study of a particular topic in 20th-century Latin American art. Course may focus on a specific period, region, movement, medium, or theoretical issue, or explore cultural connections and transfer between regions. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Graduate
Internship with a professional arts institution, organization, or individual in the Washington, D.C., area. Project to be arranged by student in consultation with faculty instructor and field supervisor. Notes: Recommended for advanced art history students seeking exposure to professional work in visual arts. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Topics vary. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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3 Sections Currently Scheduled
Investigates theories, methods, and research strategies in discipline of art history. Designed for first-semester students in art history MA program; foundation for further graduate-level work in the program. May not be repeated for credit.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Topics vary. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
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3 Sections Currently Scheduled
